Favourite CD Cover Artwork

[Hawk]

I would like to design CD covers one day so am doing some research. What are people's favourites? What are the best, most artistic, most effective front covers you have seen?

I really like the new Jan Bang cover art.

[Adrian]

I like Samadhi Sound's covers a lot mostly. Also releases on the Rune Grammofon label. In the past I really liked Dave McKean's work, and I absolutely love most if not all of Carl Glover's work - consistently of high quality for I don't know how many years now...

[Chet]

old school 4ad (Vaughan Oliver)
Let the Happiness In
New Order (Peter Saville)
all the Andy Warhol (Rolling Stones, Blue Note...°

[karnsculpture]

I think the CD as an art form is very different to LP. A lot of the artwork mentioned by earlier posters was originally done for the LP/12" format and doesn't work as well for CD.

There are some very creative CD cover designs - Pet Shop Boys "Very" lego style case, also their "Bilingual" with a frosted glass effect, Pizzicato Five "Bossanova 2001" using clear/dotted plastic for the pages of an outer booklet, with a separate CD size fold-out paper booklet inside (just incredible!), also Deee-Lite's "Infinity Within" using an interesting take on the US long box format that folds down into a regular CD size.

Weatherbox, of course, is lovely - with all of the internal artwork detail specifically designed for CD.

[Simonp]

Love most if not all of the work Chris Bigg has produced for Samadhisound. www.hardformat.org is a good place to look for album design. That's where i discovered this beauty http://www.hardformat.org/930/sklotz_ko ... lent-room/ Richard Skelton's deeply personal work http://www.sustain-release.co.uk/ is worth a look.

Favourites -

David Sylvian - Gone To Earth
David Sylvian - Manafon - deluxe
Various - 4AD Lilliput
This Mortal Coil - Filligree & Shadow
Cocteau Twins - Victorialand

This is nice too http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonymes/ ... 521787625/

[qdes]

This thread needs pictures.

[Hawk]

Wow these are a really great selection so far... Yes pictures or links would be good but can always Google.

I agree all samadhisound ones are some of the best I've seen.

How could I forget about Dave McKean? I love his work.

'Victorialand' is beautiful... Quite a lot of these have a sort of 'bronzed' effect. I also like the 'paper' effect ones like Múm 'Will Summer Make Good For all Our Sins' : http://www.pastelmusic.com/list/20050725/23.gif

The Porcupine Tree covers are nice too... in fact I remember admiring the artwork before I listened to the music.

[neonico]

ive posted a cd bild from me what do you think hawk its in my personal gallery thsat i dont have a homepage....

[Hawk]

ive posted a cd bild from me what do you think hawk its in my personal gallery thsat i dont have a homepage....

Nice - very nice. I can't figure out what the object is but that makes it even better as it's kind of abstract. I am fond of things at the moment with white as the main background...

[Quiet Visitor]

Big lover of album-covers. Have a lot of books containing them too. Quite various stuff included. From 4AD to Hipgnosis from Dave McKean to Roger Dean and from Alan Aldridge to Mark Ryden.

Here's a favourite one: Bill Evans & Jim Hall: Undercurrent. I have a reprint in my room



Hopefully by the end of this month I will receive the 4AD book Facing The Other Way.

[Foales Arishes]

Almost anything from ECM... there are a couple of great books featuring their art - 'Sleeves of Desire & Windfall Light' or get hold of their catalogue, which features hundreds of images [if a little small]


Google image search for ECM link.
http://tinyurl.com/kjhvxa3

The images have no relation to the content, but they are often simply great images, sometimes abstract sometimes fairly conventional...always striking.

[Chad]

I've been listening to hauschka this week -



thanks for the heads up on that 4ad book. that really stirs the memories.

[Quiet Visitor]

Almost anything from ECM... there are a couple of great books featuring their art - 'Sleeves of Desire & Windfall Light' or get hold of their catalogue, which features hundreds of images [if a little small]

Yeah, ECM is on my list too. I've got Sleeves Of Desire, Horizons Touched - The Music Of ECM and one of their catalogues. The DVD Sounds And Silence - Travels With Manfred Eicher is also featuring the cover-art of many albums.

[Quiet Visitor]

thanks for the heads up on that 4ad book. that really stirs the memories.

More information on that book on the 4ad website.

[Foales Arishes]

Almost anything from ECM... there are a couple of great books featuring their art - 'Sleeves of Desire & Windfall Light' or get hold of their catalogue, which features hundreds of images [if a little small]

Yeah, ECM is on my list too. I've got Sleeves Of Desire, Horizons Touched - The Music Of ECM and one of their catalogues. The DVD Sounds And Silence - Travels With Manfred Eicher is also featuring the cover-art of many albums.

Horizon Touched is a fantastic book and the DVD Sounds And Silence is a very interesting watch... It was amusing to see the position of their office at odds with their output, being so very close to what seems like one of the busiest, noisiest roads on the planet

Other sleeves I like are Talk Talk's James Marsh covers, and I have always loved Kate Bush's Aerial cover.